The Bears of Bridgewater St. were finally able to disrupt the strangle hold that Westfield St. and Worcester St. had held on the MASCAC over the past four seasons in 2011. BSU rode the momentum of their conference title all the way to the New England Regional championship game before falling to Western New England. This season, will the Bears be able to do it again?
To see how I think the MASCAC standings will shape up this season read on. 1. Bridgewater St.- The Bears welcome back six players that hit over .300 and 20 of their 26 victories on the mound in 2012. Seven of those wins came from staff ace Corey Batista. The offense will be lead by two-way threat Joshua Ferreira and Tyler Dennis.
2. Westfield St.- The Owls bring back their top three starters including Roman Mondalto and Bret Siflinger as they search for another MASCAC title. Westfield also features one of the best players in the conference in Andrew Medeiros.
3. Salem St.- The Vikings just learned that head coach Ken Perrone will be retiring after this season, ending his 30-year rein as the bench boss in Salem. His players will be fired up and feature top hitter Chris Cocci and reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Year Cory Collins.
4. Framingham St.- William Crofton and Christopher Blydell give the Rams a great 1-2 combo offensively and Matthew DiCato and Matthew Magazine can pitch with anyone in the league.
5. Worcester St.- The loss of Corey McDonald and Nick Fluegge is a bit too much for the Lancers in 2012. If Worcester St. can get a late lead, however, consider the game over as Shaun Slattery returns after racking up nine saves a year ago.
6. Fitchburg St.- The Falcons bring back their top three pitchers in 2012. Alex Teal, Tynan Flegg and Michal Mercier are all back after combining for 11 victories a season ago. If the offense can match its MASCAC-leading .321 average from a year ago, watch out.
7. Mass.-Maritime- Bob Corradi starts his 40th year with the Buccaneers in 2012 but will have to hope Tyler Genereux becomes a dominant staff ace after losing two of his top pitchers from a year ago.
8. MCLA- The bad news is that the Trailblazers won just eight games last season. The good news is Daniel Gaines returns after winning four of those eight last season.
Playoffs
Salem St. makes the championship game but Bridgewater St. proves to be too much. Like last year, the Bears hitters will prevail on the final day of the tournament. Look for Ferreira to dominate at the plate and mound again in the three-day tournament.
Player of the Year- Andrew Medeiros (Westfield St.)
Pitcher of the Year- Corey Batista (Bridgewater St.)
Coach of the Year- Ken Perrone (Salem St.)
